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2016 Volkswagen Touareg

GasDiesel

Standard Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11

Safety Signal

84 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns2

Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA44

Crash ratingNHTSA overall—

Fuel economybest combined, EPA24 mpg

2017 2016

The 2016 Volkswagen Touareg is sold in the U.S. as a gas and diesel midsize or large SUV with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Touareg, is EPA-rated at 24 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 44 complaints, most often about the engine.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Annual fuel*
Touareg	Gas	AWD	3.6L 6-cyl	17	23	19	$3,300
Touareg	Diesel	AWD	3.0L 6-cyl turbo	21	28	24	$3,750

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 36785, 36635.

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Recalls (2)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Tires

44M9

366 vehicles

ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toureg vehicles manufactured July 7, 2015 to March 3, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) may be improperly calibrated and, as a result, the TPMS may fail to warn the driver that the tire pressure is low. Additionally, the tire pressures printed on the Safety Certification labels are incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."RiskIf the vehicle is driven on underinflated tires, the tires may fail suddenly, increasing the risk of a crash.FixVolkswagen has notified owners, and dealers will correct the TPMS settings and replace the safety certification label, free of charge. The recall began on May 13, 2016. Volkwagen's number for this recall is 44M9.

NHTSA campaign 16V243000reported Apr 26, 2016Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

▲high

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

46G4

46,574 vehicles

ProblemVolkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2011-2016 Touareg vehicles. The brake pedal pivot pin may be missing a securing clip, allowing the pivot pin to move and the brake pedal to dislodge.RiskIf the brake pedal dislodges, the driver may not be able to apply the brakes, increasing the risk of a crash.FixVolkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake pedal assembly to verify the presence of the securing clip and install any missing securing clips, free of charge. The recall began on April 27, 2016. Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 46G4.

NHTSA campaign 16V170000reported Mar 24, 2016Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

44complaints filed

0 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 3 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2015: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2019: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2021: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2025: 6

Most-cited components

Engine22

Forward Collision Avoidance13

Unspecified10

Service Brakes5

Electrical System5

Structure3

What owners describe

“The car will stop (while driving) for no apparent reason. â€œPhantom Brakingâ€�. This is without any known objects/people approaching our vehicle. Itâ€™s a part of the electronic automatic braking system but obviously it is not programmed correctly. It is DANGEROUS. A brief review on internet shows these sudden stops h…”Nov 13, 2025 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report

“UNKNOWN- simply picking up my kids and various alerts came on the dashboard including the ABS brakes error, Parking brake error, and others that I am not sure of. I just bought this suv on Friday from DCH Acura of Montclair, NJ/ Lithia Motors in Verona, NJ [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMAT…”May 19, 2025 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report

“Vehicle manufacture (Volkswagon) has quit supplying/manufacturing a safety guidence parts for my auto. 7P6-907-217-BX-Z1Y Collision Avoidance Camera NOT AVAILABLE i would like my anti Self collision guidance repaired, but no parts for my 8-9 year old car. part was on order (from 2024) and notified today NOT available a…”Feb 5, 2025 · Forward Collision Avoidance · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Other Touareg model years

2017 Volkswagen Touareg

1 recalls · 24 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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